Europe Funds Repression, Egypt Stages Elections
Egypt Security Sector Report
This week’s issue tracks Europe’s embrace of Sisi under a “strategic partnership” that trades loans for migration control, while Egypt tightens electoral gates ahead of November’s vote. I cover Eilat’s appeals over Red Sea disruptions, official hopes for a rapid Suez Canal rebound, the Tamar maintenance hit to Israel–Egypt gas flows, and BCG’s post-Gaza risk overhaul. Also inside: the Pentagon’s plan to modernize Egypt’s combat training center, Cairo’s push on AUSSOM troop deployment, judges billed for mandatory military “training,” campus loyalty roadshows, and fresh abuses against religious minorities.
📁 EU Hails Egypt as ‘Strategic Partner,’ Funds Repression in the Name of Stability
The first EU–Egypt summit in Brussels this week sealed a new €4 billion (approx. US$4.3 billion) loan package to Cairo, part of a €7.4 billion “strategic partnership” unveiled in 2024. Brussels claims the funds will stabilize Egypt’s economy and curb irregular migration, but rights groups say they entrench Europe’s complicity in repression.
The spectacle reached the absurd when regime loyalists, mobilized by Egypt’s embassy in Brussels, unveiled a golden statue of Sisi at the entrance of the summit venue. Cast by his supporters and displayed before EU officials, the effigy turned what was billed as diplomacy into a scene of authoritarian cringe. Europe applauding as the general admired his own likeness.
Since 2016, the EU has funneled hundreds of millions of euros into Egyptian border control, police, and military programs under the banner of “migration management.” These include grants from the European Peace Facility, the EU4BorderSecurity program, and separate projects run by Frontex and CIVIPOL to equip and train Egypt’s coast guard, who are repeatedly accused of arbitrary detention, torture, and pushbacks of refugees. A 2025 Statewatch report revealed EU institutions even helped draft Egypt’s restrictive asylum law while ignoring evidence of mass deportations of Sudanese and Syrian asylum seekers.
Europe continues to laud Cairo for preventing migrant boats from leaving its shores since 2016 and for hosting some 10 million foreigners. Yet Egyptian authorities have also extorted displaced people through “legalization” fees and regime-linked companies. The summit laid bare the trade-off at the heart of EU policy: border control and gas access bought at the price of human rights and democratic credibility.
📁 Elections Under Tight Security, Mounting Exclusions Signal Regime’s Grip
The upcoming parliamentary elections, scheduled for 10–11 November, will unfold under sweeping security control, with the judiciary and election authorities further tightening who can run.
The Supreme Administrative Court last week upheld the exclusion of multiple candidates on the grounds of military service exemptions, a precedent rights advocates warn could bar thousands of Egyptians for political reasons. For the first time, authorities have also required candidates to undergo urine tests for drugs and alcohol, with several opposition hopefuls already disqualified after alleged positive results.
The National Elections Authority has expanded its vetting process, disqualifying independents and critics in a continuation of the heavily managed Senate vote last August, when security agencies handpicked lists and turnout barely reached 17%. The new parliament will likely secure a constitutional path for Sisi to remain beyond 2030, entrenching authoritarian control under the guise of electoral legitimacy.
Dig deeper: Sisi Has a Hegemony Problem
📁 The Soldier as Cop
I wrote an article on the constabularization of modern militaries.